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Fitting and style You can usuaUy order books through your local bookstore without having to pay a servicefee. Addresses are provided if you would like to order direcUyfrom the publisher. Judith Rasband's Fabulous Fit (Fairchild Books, 7 W. 34th St., New York, NY 10001, 212·630-3880; 1993; paperback, $21.50; 176 pp.) sheds new light on the subject of fitting, that perennial sewer's bane, in several intriguing ways. Rasband is an image consultant as well as a sewing expert, so she brings a wealth of style savvy to the challenge of fitting unique bodies. But she's also got a terrific pattern-altering strategy, one that we've been showing in the Threads "Fitting" column for some time. Working with Della Steineckert (a frequent contributor to that column) and Elizabeth Liechty at Brigham Young University, Rasband evolved what she calls the seam method of pattern altering, in which all necessary alterations are made by shifting only a pattern's seam allowances (and thus the seamline), not by cutting into the pattern itself. rrhe result? Wrinkle-free altered patterns, with grainlines, centers, and interior details undistorted and still perfectly flat. rrhe specific changes in size with this method are identical to the results you'd get from any other method, but they're typically easier to understand and to manage, particularly for the nonexpert. In 1986, Rasband and her colleagues wrote a major treatise comparing the seam method with other tried and true approaches. Fitting Alteration: A Multi-Method Approach (also from Fairchild; 1992) was aimed primarily at college-level fashion students. Rasband's new book is much easier to use because it's less textbooklike, it uses only the new method, and it has the welcome addition of Rasband's figure-flattery smarts. Besides an extensive and clearly illustrated introduction on analyzing your figure and dressing to optimize it, each of the 46 specific figure variations for which alterations are shown also has a useful illustrated reference chart of fashion choices that would and would not be flattering for that figure. The chief problem with the new book is & 84 one that all fitting books share: It's unlikely that your specific problems be addressed in detail. No book can will Pattern possibly deal with every figure type and every pattern variation, but Fabulous Fit takes a particularly limiting approach. All of the example alterations are shown only on basic shell patterns-darted bodices, straight skirts, and plain pantsgoing by the not-always-true theory that less-fitted clothes will need fewer alterations. rl'he authors' first book covers more figure variations (more than 80) and occasionally shows sample alterations on patterns with yokes, princess seams, and lapels. And each alteration is done by three different methods. But even if you had both of these books, you'd still have no specific directions for altering, say, a shawlcollared, raglan-sleeve top for your particular figure. What you would have, if you were willing to study, is a solid course in the principles offitting. We're still a long way from the ultimate just-look-it-up fitting reference. But with its siinple and innovative alteration technique, and its recognition that appropriate style is an important part of any fitting question, Fabulous Fit has raised the standards of real-world usefulness for any future attempts at the perfect fitting book. There's no question that fashionconscious sewers are hungry for good information about appropriate styles for their figures, and often feel confused by the choices offered by the pattern books. But I've heard more than one sewer express impatience at the restrictive, formulaic feel of some well-meaning image-improving systems, and at the idea that there's a standard of attractiveness that people ought to aim for with their wardrobe choices. With the colorful new book The Triumph of Individual Style Crimeless Editions, 1150 Chestnut La., Menlo Park, CA 94025, 415-321-1 156; 1993; paperback, $24.95; 183 pp.), image consultants Carla Mason Mathis and Helen Villa Connor express their complete sympathy with that impatience. The book's most obvious, and welcome, innovation is the total absence of any fashion images. The authors have lavishly illustrated their many themes wi th art reproductions of women. So rather than looking in despair through a catalog offashion models, the reader is reminded of the extraordinary beauty artists in every age have found in the widest possible range offemale forms. In this single brilliant stroke the authors have revealed the image industry's best, and often completely missed, message: Looking your best and getting the greatest pleasure from your own image and clothing is not simply about conforming to an external standard or learning how to camouflage your real self. It's about learni ng to see yourself the wayan artist sees the world, with eyes wide open to all visual elements, and with a growing confidence in your capacity to play with those elements for your own enjoyment. To keep this excursion in to fine art grounded in reality, hundreds of delicate line drawings throughout the text suggest contemporary wardrobe choices. The authors start with a chapter called "Line," where they describe how to see the lines within faces and bodies, and then how to see complementary qualities in fabrics and prints. Next is "Shape," in which the reader gets a quick overview of the basic silhouettes that bodies and clothing can have, like rectangles, figureeights, and so on. You also learn how to combine shapes to create alternative silhouettes. "Proportions" gets a similar treatment, then there's a chapter on body parts and their visual qualities. The next three chapters make the best use of the art reproductions. In "Scale," the au thors discuss bone structure, facial features, and the canvas your body provides for ornamentation and detail. 'l'he treatment of "Color" that follows is simply wonderful. The authors provide two color wheels and pages of charts, with some of the most useful discussions of color qualities I've ever seen. The first section, and its color wheel, is about pure pigment colors, and it relates primarily to clothing. 'l'he second section is about skin, eye, and hair color, and its color wheel is one you make yourself, with swatches from the book. Suffice it to say that this chapter alone is worth the price of the book. Next, the authors devote a chapter to textural qualities of your body and of clothing, and how they interact. The last chapter is a fascinating description of the process through which you compile the elements in the previous eight chapters to forge your own desired image. Like Rasband 's book, this one is not for quick reference, bu tit will reward you handsomely for the hours you'll want to spend with it. David Page Coffin is an associate editor oj 'l'hreads. Thnnds Maga�嬉㭨၀